It's all quite gentle popcorn fun and you'll have a good time in the company of 2 of the best known martial arts actors, but in the end it is all about the choreography and the scenery. The movie lacks a bit of soul and tries to play it safe. Too bad, because it could have been just as epic as HERO. The best thing about the movie is the triangular relationship between the two masters and the student. Rent it one night when it's raining outside.
Quote from the Forbidden Kingdom:
Jason Tripitikas: You think you'll teach me the No Shadow Kick? Oh, and the Buddha Palm Technique. There's a guy in Virtua Fighter 2, who does the Buddha Palm Technique.
[Lu gives him a cup]
Jason Tripitikas: Thanks, Lu. And he does the Iron Elbow. And he does the One Finger Death Touch.
[the cup starts overflowing]
Jason Tripitikas: The cup's full. Stop! It's full!
Lu Yan: Exactly, how can you fill your cup if already full? How can you learn Kung Fu, you already know so much. No Shadow Kick, Buddha Palm! Empty your cup.
[Jason empties his cup]
Lu Yan: [looks at him in surprise] Hopeless. It is hopeless!
An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself traveling back to ancient China to join a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King
